Students hold ‘lie-in’ at White House to protest gun laws

iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Students from the Washington, D.C. area held a protest outside the White House Monday to call for lawmakers to reform gun laws after the shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla. last week.

In the protest, organized by a group called Teens for Gun Reform, 17 students lay on the ground for three minutes in front of the White House to symbolize the 17 people killed last week and how long it reportedly took the shooter to buy an AR-15 rifle, according to a press release.

Protesters held signs that read “Protect Kids, Not Guns” and “How about our children’s rights?” while someone read the names of the 17 victims of the Parkland shooting over a bullhorn.

Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were shot and killed by a former student last week, have called for a national march on Washington, D.C. on March 24 to call on lawmakers to take action to prevent future mass shootings.